The Creatures Inside
by TranscodeNightCat
Summary: Takes place in an AU in Ancient Egypt. After the fall of Zorc, his darkness was spread across the land. Shadow creatures are more common. Some children have been found to possess incredibly powerful shadow creatures. Atem has ordered Kaiba and several others are tasked with finding the children and caring for them while they live in the palace. Characters from other series appear.
1. Chapter 1

Kaiba walked down the streets of the village with Shada by his side. "What are you looking for Seto?"

"There have been reports of a shadow creature, the black dragon with red eyes. I want to add it to my collection." He scanned the streets looking for any abnormalities and dark feelings in the people.

"Come back when you can earn some money!" A young boy was thrown out of a house while his father closed the door locking him out.

Kaiba looked at the dirt on his face, the visible bruises on his body, and the torn rags that served as his clothing. He banged on the door for a bit longer before walking away looking dejected. "Shada, let's follow him."

"Do you think he has the shadow creature?"

"We've had no luck up to this point. I'll try anything." Kaiba started following after the boy with Shada. He ran down an alley trying to keep up with the boy so he would not lose him. He eventually caught up to the boy who was trying to find work at the market with no luck. Kaiba walked over to him shocking him when he put a hand on his shoulder. "Hold still." The boy was too shocked to move. "Shada."

The man nodded his head holding up the Millennium Key to the boy. "Incredible!" He was shocked when he saw the dragon.

"He has it?"

"Indeed, but the dragon is attached to the boy. Removing it will destroy him."

Kaiba knelt before the trembling boy trying to comfort him. "What's your name?"

"Joseph."

"Joseph, would you like to come with us to the palace?"

"Kaiba…" Shada was interrupted by a piercing glare from him.

"Why do you want me? Am I in trouble?"

"Nothing of that sort. Maybe you'd like some food, a bed, some new clothes?"

"Really?" He asked staring Kaiba directly in the eyes. Kaiba stood up and extended his hand to the boy. Joseph paused for a few seconds before grabbing it.

"Good choice." Kaiba started walking with the young boy by his side. He looked at Shada. "Don't tell the pharaoh about this. He needs to be kept off the streets."

"You have my word." Shada said going over the situation in his mind. He knew Kaiba's intentions were mostly pure. Joseph ignored them. He looked up at Kaiba and smiled. Kaiba smiled down at him while they walked back to the palace.

Back at the palace, Joseph was bathed and his clothes were changed. "That's better." Kaiba said examining him. "Come with me." He took the boy down a hall and walked into a room. "You can sleep here."

"This is for me?" He asked sitting down on the bed. Kaiba nodded his head. "Thanks." At that moment, his stomach growled prompting him to give a shy smile.

"You don't get to eat much, do you?" Joseph shook his head. "Come on, let's go find you something to eat." He put a hand on the boy's head tussling the mess of blonde hair.

Joseph sat at a table stuffing his mouth with bread and fruit. "So good." He smiled with a full mouth.

"Slow down. No one's going to take it from you." He had his arms crossed while he leaned back in his chair. Joseph ignored him eating as fast as he could until he had his fill. "For a kid, you sure can eat a lot." He smiled briefly before looking at some of the leftover bread. He tore off a piece and put it in his pocket. "You don't need to do that. We'll always have food here. Put it back." Joseph sighed putting the bread back on the table. Kaiba nodded to the guards who started to clear the table. "I'm going to take you back to your room." He stood up motioning for Joseph to follow. Kaiba took Joseph back to his room and sat him on the bed. "I need you to stay here. I'll be back later, I promise." Joseph nodded his head in understanding. Kaiba walked outside looking at the guards. "Make sure that no one goes in that room and make sure that he does not come out." The guards nodded their heads before he walked off.

Late at night, Kaiba sat at the desk in his room thinking. _I can't remove his shadow creature from him without killing him. If I return him to the street, his creature may emerge and cause destruction, and his living conditions will only increase his hatred and fear making the creature stronger. If he's here, he'll be safe, and we'll be able to help him control the creature._

His thoughts were interrupted by one of the guards. "The pharaoh would like to see you."

"I'll be right there." He stood up and walked down the halls of the palace to the main chamber. He walked into the chamber and was shocked by what he saw. He saw Joseph sitting in the pharaoh's lap giggling while Mana stood nearby showing him magic tricks.

"Kaiba, so good of you to join us." Atem smiled. "I was just having a nice conversation with Joseph."

"How did you find him?" Kaiba's expression was a mix of anger and concern.

"Mana found him in the kitchen and brought him to me."

"Hey Kaiba." Joseph smiled.

"You were supposed to stay in your room."

"It got boring in there." He responded.

"Kaiba, why did you bring him here?" Atem asked.

"I would prefer to answer that without him in the room." The pharaoh looked to Mana who understood.

"Come on. Kaiba needs to talk to Pharaoh for a little bit." She smiled picking up the boy and carrying him away.

"Go on." Atem said crossing his arms.

"Shada and I were looking for the black dragon with red eyes…"

Atem interrupted Kaiba. "And that boy has the dragon?"

"Yes. I was hoping to capture the dragon, but it is bound to Joseph. I brought him here hoping to protect him as well as the villagers. I thought we might be able to help him control it."

"That's an interesting proposition." The pharaoh smiled a little at the thought. "Before we go there though, I was wondering if there are more children like Joseph."

"It is certainly a possibility." Kaiba responded. "After the fall of Zorc, more shadow creatures have been appearing."

"Then it's settled."

"What's settled?" Kaiba asked.

"You, Shada, and Mana will travel to the villages to find children like Joseph. Offer them sanctuary, clothing, and food here. I'll follow your wishes and keep them safe here. And if what you say is true, I'm sure there are others already looking for these children hoping to using them for malicious purposes."

"That is very kind of you Pharaoh."

"You should go prepare yourself now. Travel will be long. But before that, you should go spend some time with Joseph. I think that he is developing a bond with you."

"I won't let you down." Kaiba bowed before walking away.

Kaiba walked into Joseph's bedroom seeing him sitting next to Mana. "Kaiba!" He smiled running and jumping into his arms.

"Hey there. You certainly changed things a bit."

"What do you mean?" Mana asked curious.

"We have to go find more kids like Joseph here, kids with extraordinary gifts." He smiled a little setting the boy down. "I'll start preparing transport. Joseph, I want you to get some rest." He pointed to the bed. Reluctantly, he laid down in the bed. Mana tucked him in while Kaiba extinguished the lights. "Sleep well." He walked out of the room with Mana.

"So we're going to be finding kids?" Kaiba nodded his head walking off.

 _A week later…_

Kaiba walked outside to see two wagons like he had ordered. One was covered while the other was stacked with supplies that were tied down. Mana's head peeked out from the covered wagon. "Almost done in here."

"What are you doing?" Kaiba walked over to the wagon and peered inside. "What's all of this?" He looked around the inside of the wagon seeing that the base had been covered. Blankets, small toys, and other objects were also scattered around.

"It's going to be a long trip." Shada said climbing to the front of the wagon.

"They're kids, Kaiba. They need to be entertained and comfortable. They're not prisoners."

"Wait up!" Joseph was running over to them holding something in his hands.

"Joseph, what are you doing here with the Millennium Ring?" Kaiba looked at him.

"Pharaoh said I could come, and he said to give this to Mana."

"Thank you Joesph." Mana smiled lifting him into the cart and taking the ring from him.

"Joseph, go back to the palace. This trip is going to be dangerous."

"No way. I'm coming with you." He climbed into the back of the cart. He sat there with a stubborn look on his face.

"Mana, keep an eye on him."

"Got it." She smiled sitting in the back of the cart with him.

"Let's get going." He looked at Shada who nodded his head ready to leave. He grabbed the reins while the carts started to move.


	2. Chapter 2

The moon shined brightly in the night sky along with the many stars that surrounded it. Kaiba sat at the front of the cart with the reins in his hands. He looked back into the cart and saw Mana, Shada, and Joseph resting. Kaiba yawned fighting his need for sleep as they continued onward. They had been travelling for days heading for a small city north of the palace.

Joseph stirred in his sleep opening his eyes a little. He moved closer to the front of the cart yawning loudly. Kaiba turned around and looked at him. "You should be asleep."

"Are we almost there?" Joseph asked rubbing his eyes.

"We'll be there by morning." Joseph crawled to the front of the cart and took a seat at the front with Kaiba. He sighed looking down at the small boy. "Would you like to steer?"

"I don't know how." Joseph sighed.

Kaiba smiled putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'll show you." He moved Joseph to his lap. "Grasp the reins. You need to have a good grip on them." The small boy held the ends of the reins. "You tug them if you want the horses to slow down." Kaiba demonstrated pulling back on the reins. "Then you whip them to make the horses to go forward." He flicked his wrists and watched the wave travel down the reins. "Then you pull the reins to the sides to change directions." He demonstrated pulling to the left and the horses going right. He then pulled to the right to get the horses back in the right direction. "Got it?"

"Yeah." Joseph smiled.

"Most of the time you just have to keep them steady." Kaiba watched Joseph move back to his side of the cart. "You should get some rest now."

"I'm not that tired." Joseph yawned defeating his point.

"Get some rest." Kaiba motioned to the back of the cart. Joseph sighed moving to the back of the cart.

Time passed and the sun started to rise as they entered the city. Villagers stared at him while he scanned the streets looking for children who had the possibility to possess powerful shadow creatures. Kaiba brought the carts to a small inn paying the owner to watch the carts and tend to the horses. "We should be here for a few nights. The horses need food, water, and grooming. I'm sure that you can handle that." He placed some gold on the counter.

"It shouldn't be a problem." The innkeeper took the gold trembling a little at Kaiba's intimidating presence.

"I'll be heading to my room then. I'm a bit tired." Kaiba turned around and walked away. He walked to the carts and saw Mana, Shada, and Joseph standing next to them. "I will catch up with you later. I assume you two can handle things." Shada and Mana nodded their heads. "Joseph, you do whatever Shada or Mana tells you." Joseph nodded his head. Kaiba looked at all of them one more time before turning around and walking away.

"Stay by my side." Shada looked at Joseph putting a hand on his shoulder. The group walked into the village looking around. "Mana, maybe your Millennium Ring could be of some assistance."

"Oh, I guess I could give it a try." She held the ring that dangled around her neck. "Locate children with shadow creatures." She watched the tips on the ends dangle before one of them pointed to Joseph. "I guess I need to get used to using it." She rubbed the back of her head.

"It's fine." Shada looked around the village and saw some children by a well gathering water. "Let's try over there." He started walking towards the well with Joseph tagging along.

Mana followed after them. She watched as each child froze in fear feeling Shada's hand on their shoulder. None of them dared to move or speak as he held up the key to each of them. Some were curious about what he was doing, but none of them dared to ask. After examining all of them, he sighed. "I apologize deeply for bothering you." He started to walk away.

Mana caught up to him with Joseph tagging behind them. "None of them had shadow creatures?"

"None of them had powerful shadow creatures." Shada corrected her.

"Shouldn't we do something though?" Mana asked concerned.

"They will be fine. When the creatures are weak, they can be controlled. No one will actively be hunting them down." Shada tried to reassure her while continuing to scan the streets. "We should keep moving."

"When's Kaiba coming back?" Joseph asked looking up at Shada.

"He's resting. I am sure he will join us soon. He spent a lot of his energy getting us here."

 _Meanwhile…_

Kaiba had woken up from his rest and decided to go to a small tavern near the inn. He sat at a small table sipping from a cup full of wine. He looked around and saw some children cleaning and clearing tables and cleaning the floors. He saw one of them looking at him. He motioned for the boy to come to his table. "Bring me the owner." The boy immediately walked off behind a curtain. Kaiba could hear shouting followed by a thud. He remained calm taking a sip from his cup.

The boy ran out from behind the curtain while the man he assumed was the owner walked out. He walked over to Kaiba's table. "You requested my presence?" He put on a fake smile looking eager to help.

"Please, take a seat." Kaiba showed no intentions sipping his wine examining the man sitting across from him. The man was rather large and had a very thick mustache. Gold rings adorned his fingers. "Tell me about your workers."

The man chuckled. "Slaves from a village up north. They're brought in by ships from Greece."

"They don't seem to talk much." Kaiba said looking at them.

"They communicate with each other."

"Have you noticed any odd behaviors in them?" Kaiba asked.

The man's brow furrowed. "They go into an older building at night, but they always come back by morning."

"Thank you for your time." Kaiba placed a silver coin on the counter and left.

 _Later that night…_

"Where's Kaiba?" Joseph asked looking around their room at the inn.

"He said that he had to take care of some things." Shada said trying to comfort Joseph who was feeling a bit neglected.

"He'll be back." Mana reassured him. "It takes a lot to take Kaiba down."

 _Meanwhile…_

Kaiba walked down the now empty streets of the city. He saw a few people wandering about, but they were of no concern to him. He walked past the tavern he went to earlier in the day. He paused at a crumbling house where a faint light could be seen. Kaiba walked inside cautiously. He hid behind a wall. Peering out from it carefully, he could see the three boys sitting around a fire. They sat around together talking in whispers. Kaiba watched them close their eyes. Each of them called forth shadow creatures that appeared to be made of metal. One was green and had spherical features, another was a silver color and had more rectangular features, and the other was a shade of pink.

Kaiba's Diadhank activated as he stepped out of hiding. The children looked scared as they stood up ready to fight. "I do not want to cause you any harm." Kaiba took a step forward cautiously. The children remained scared. "I have a shadow creature as well. Duos!" Kaiba called forth the shadow creature. He stared at the children waiting for them to make their move. "I can ensure you a better life, food, proper education, a warm bed to sleep in at night. I am sure that man gives you little. You deserve better."

The children all looked at each other. Their shadow creatures disappeared. Kaiba made his Duos disappear. One of the children walked forward and looked at Kaiba. He smiled at him before he and the other boys ran out of the house. "I'll get you out of here." Kaiba clenched his fist walking out of the old house.

The next day, Kaiba walked into the tavern. He saw the boys sweeping and cleaning; they acknowledged his presence. He walked behind the curtain and saw the owner sitting at a table, greedily counting stacks of coins. "You're back." The man smiled parting the stacks of coins. "What can I do for you?"

"I would like to purchase those children from you." Kaiba responded.

The owner's eyes lit up as a grin formed on his face. "I don't know. I have grown quite fond of them. The offer would have to be…substantial." He emphasized the last part smiling even more.

"Does this work?" Kaiba asked placing a small bag of gold dust on the table.

The man greedily snatched the bag off the table. He poured some of it in his hands sifting it with his large fingers. He then looked at Kaiba. "I think I could use some more."

"This should suffice." He placed another small bag on the counter. "That's all I have to give you."

"Well that just happens to be enough." The greedy man smiled taking the gold from him. "The children are yours."

"I'm glad that we could come to an agreement." Kaiba walked out from behind the curtain and saw the three boys standing there. "Come along." He started walking with them following behind him. Kaiba walked back to the inn and saw Mana, Shada, and Joseph preparing the cart.

"Kaiba!" Joseph yelled excitedly running over to him and hugging him.

"Joseph, these boys are coming along with us." He motioned to the three boys.

"Kaiba, you found these kids?" Mana asked curious.

"I bought them." Kaiba responded. "I also managed to get a tip on where we can find more children. Apparently there is a village to the north that specializes in slave auctions."

"Do these kids have names?" Shada asked looking at them.

"They have not told me." Kaiba responded. "They do not talk much, but they can control their shadow creatures fairly well."

"They have tags around their necks." Mana said examining one of the boys. She looked at the tag around his neck. "It's Greek. It's a Beta. Is that your name?" She asked looking into the boy's green eyes. He nodded his head.

"The man I bought them from said they were from Greece." Kaiba looked at the tag on the boy with gray eyes. "This one is Alpha."

The other boy had light red eyes. "This one is Gamma." Shada said looking at the tag around his neck.

"We need to get moving. I'm sure that they are auctioning children off as we speak." Kaiba looked at the children. "Get in the cart." Joseph immediately hopped in and got in the back of the cart. Beta, Gamma, and Alpha followed getting into the cart. They made a small circle in the back. "Shada, keep an eye on them." He nodded his head getting into the back of the cart. Mana sat up front with Kaiba who grabbed the reins as the cart started to move.


	3. Chapter 3

Shada held the reins driving the carts while Kaiba and Mana watched the children sitting in the back. Kaiba stared at Alpha, Gamma, and Beta, the newest additions to the collection of children. He watched them toss a ball to each other in a circle. Their movements were calculated, they were entirely focused on the game they were playing. Meanwhile, Mana was resting in the back of the cart. Joseph was playing by himself in a corner of the cart.

Kaiba looked at the three boys. "Alpha!" The boy immediately whipped around. Meanwhile, Gamma threw the ball at him knocking him down. The ball rolled around the cart and landed near Joseph.

The three boys turned to him watching him carefully as he held the ball in his hands. "Here." Joseph tossed the ball back to them. Gamma caught it in his hands.

"Maybe you three should let Joseph play with you." Kaiba said looking at them. The boys immediately rearranged themselves allowing room for Joseph to join them.

"Thanks." Joseph sat in their circle starting to pass the ball with them.

No one could see it, but Alpha, Beta, and Gamma were communicating through their minds. _Joseph seems nice._ Gamma said passing the ball to Alpha.

 _It would be nice to actually see his powers._ Alpha passed the ball to Joseph.

 _I'm sure we can arrange something._ Gamma caught the ball Joseph hurled at him.

"You guys okay?" Joseph asked looking at them. "You're being so quiet." The boys all gave him a nod of assurance.

As the sun started to set, Shada slowed the carts to a stop. He, Kaiba, and Mana got out and started to set up camp for the night. Soon enough, they had tents set up and a fire going. Everyone sat around the fire eating their rations for the night.

"We should be arriving at the next village by tomorrow night." Kaiba said looking at the sky.

"We will have to keep the children safe. The village trades slaves. If the children are mistaken or left alone, they may get taken. It's dangerous for them." Shada said motioning to them.

"You're right. How are we going to do this?" Mana looked at all of the kids.

"We'll park the carts outside of the village. You and Shada will stay behind to watch the children." Kaiba told her.

"Why do we have to stay behind!?" Mana stared at him with her arms crossed.

"I found the children last time, I can do it again." Kaiba responded.

"How about you stay behind and watch the kids and Shada and I will go find new children?" Mana suggested.

"You should provide us the opportunity." Shada added.

"Very well." Kaiba crossed his arms. "I hope you fare better this time."

"We will." Mana smirked at him.

Beta could tell that they were distracted with their plans. He looked at his brothers who all nodded to him before they walked off. Beta walked over to Joseph.

"Hey, Beta, what's going on?"

"Please, come with me."

"You talked!" Joseph shouted.

Beta looked around frantically hoping that no one heard him. He looked at Kaiba and the others who were still talking and let out a sigh of relief. "Please, come with me." He repeated himself grabbing Joseph's arm this time.

"Okay, okay." Joseph grabbed his arm back deciding to follow Beta. They walked into a large ditch where Alpha and Gamma were already waiting.

Beta stood by his brothers; their shadow creatures emerged. They all turned to Joseph surrounding him. "Show us your power." They started chanting as they stood around him.

Joseph's original curiosity turned to panic as he faced three powerful creatures all ready to attack him. "Why are you guys doing this? Stop!" Joseph was on the ground fearing what would happen next; he closed his eyes waiting for it to be over. Alpha's shadow creature prepared to attack and then the three boys went silent. Joseph opened his eyes to see a black dragon hovering above him.

Alpha, Beta, and Gamma were stunned by what they saw. "Attack!" They all shouted together. Their shadow creatures leapt into action charging the dragon.

The black dragon with red eyes showed its power blasting the Alpha's creature into the ground. It then picked up Gamma's magnetic creature and hurled it into Beta's creature.

Alpha and his brothers still stood. Their creatures returned to their sides ready to continue. "I don't want to hurt you guys." Joseph looked tired having little experience with controlling his shadow creature. He was not even sure how he made it appear or attack them the way it did.

Alpha and the others could see his tiredness. Their shadow creatures charged the dragon continuing their assault. Joseph's dragon did its best to protect its host, but it fell at the might of the three powerful, experienced creatures.

Joseph fell down, exhausted from the battle. He remained conscious only with his will to continue. He saw Beta preparing to attack him again.

Then, a bright light hit him. "That's enough!" Kaiba shouted. A white dragon hovered over Joseph ready to protect him. Kaiba ran into the ditch and picked Joseph up. "You three, end this now." The boys' shadow creatures vanished as did Kaiba's dragon. "Your actions are irresponsible, selfish, and unacceptable. Get back to camp, now." Kaiba started walking back to camp with the boys. He held Joseph closely. "Are you alright?"

"I'm tired." Joseph mumbled closing his eyes.

"You'll have plenty of time to rest." Kaiba said checking him over for injuries.

They got back to camp where Mana and Shada looked over Beta, Gamma, and Alpha for any injuries. Meanwhile, Kaiba put Joseph in one of the tents to rest.

"Is he okay?" Mana asked seeing Kaiba emerge from the tent.

"He's fine." Kaiba said crossing his arms. "I don't know what Beta, Gamma, and Alpha were thinking. Their actions were unprecedented. Joseph did nothing to instigate that battle."

"I believe they were merely testing their boundaries." Shada said walking over. "They have gone to sleep for the night, but I managed to talk with Alpha before. He says that they wanted to see Joseph's power. The best way for them to do that was to initiate a battle."

"I'll have to keep a closer eye on them when we get to the village." Kaiba said looking at the others who all nodded their heads.


	4. Chapter 4

The cart was moving once more; all of the kids were sitting in the back. "You kids are going to have to stay with Kaiba today. The city we're going to is dangerous. They might try to take you." Mana said as she saw the outline of the city outside. Alpha, Beta, and Gamma nodded their heads. No one could see their thoughts, but they were dreading the city and the memories it brought back. Joseph did not know any better, but he agreed to Mana's directions knowing he would get to spend time with Kaiba.

The cart stopped at a small inn just outside the city. Kaiba left for a few moments before returning. "We have one room. I have been informed that there is an auction scheduled for today at the port." He handed Mana and Shada each a bag of gold. "Find them before someone else does."

"We'll do our best." Shada put his hand on Kaiba's shoulder. "We'll be back as soon as we can. Let's go Mana." She nodded her head following Mana out of the inn. Meanwhile, the boys were playing with a ball on the floor. Kaiba sat on a stool occasionally looking out the window to make sure no one suspicious entered the inn. Kaiba looked at Alpha, Gamma, and Beta. He could sense their discomfort. He sighed at them returning to watching the window.

Mana and Shada walked through the city keeping close to each other. It was still morning out so not many people were out. If they were, they were setting up their shops or heading to the port for the auction. When they arrived to the port, Mana and Shada were shocked and appalled. Several people stood around watching as children shackled to each other were led off a boat and into cages on a stage. Shada walked over to one of the auctioneers. "Would you mind if I look at them?" He stared the auctioneer in the eyes with his piercing stare. They nodded granting him permission with some fear in their eyes. Shada walked over to the cage examining the children with his Millennium Key. He sighed looking at Mana. "It's unfortunate that we can't save all of them. None of them have strong shadow creatures."

"Can't we at least save one?" Mana asked looking at Shada with wide eyes.

"I wish." Shada sighed. "Unfortunately, we must follow the Pharaoh's decree."

"I know." Mana sighed. They turned to walk away from the auction site. "Seto will be disappointed in us."

"Not necessarily." Shada pointed to angry shopkeeper yelling at a boy running across the rooftops. "Perhaps we should follow him." Shada broke into a sprint chasing the boy on the roof while he ran through the streets trying to avoid the people. Mana tagged along running ahead of Shada.

Using her magic, she jumped to the rooftops chasing after the boy thief. She could not see much, but she could see a small boy with aqua colored hair tied into a ponytail running and jumping across the ledges. "Hey, stop!" Mana called out to him. The boy looked back at her glaring. He continued running; a set of large knives appeared behind him. _Demonic Knives._ "I just want to talk!" The blades glowed and started chasing after Mana who was doing her best to avoid them and keep up with the boy. Just as she was about to catch him, the blades caught up forcing her to jump from the building. She landed safely with the help of her magic. The shadow creature disappeared along with the boy. "So close." Mana put her hands on her head in frustration.

Shada finally caught up with her. "Any luck?" Mana shook her head. "We'll find him and reach his heart." He helped her up giving her a look of reassurance.

"If you're looking for that rat, I heard he can't resist candy." Someone said passing them by.

"Candy, huh?" Mana smiled formulating a new plan.

 _Meanwhile…_

The boy with blue hair ran into an alley and ran into a hole in one of the walls. "Kite, I'm back!" He yelled excitedly.

The boy he referred to as Kite sat on a torn sheet on the floor meditating. "Not so loud, Sora. They can't find us."

"This weird girl was chasing me, but I scared her off." He smiled triumphantly dropping a sack on the floor. Its contents were bread, fruit, and a few other food items.

"She didn't follow you here, did she?"

Sora shook his head.

"Good. Kurin, Sora's back with food." Kite picked up a piece of bread, walked over to a small boy laying on the floor, and rubbed his back. "Sora brought food."

"Not hungry." The small boy mumbled rubbing his purple eyes before closing them once more.

"You need to eat." Kite rubbed his back again tearing off a piece of bread for him. Kite watched him eat the bread making sure he finished it and did not try to hide it. "Good job." Kite tussled the mess of shaggy brown hair on his head. "Get some water in you." He handed Kurin a small, chipped, ceramic cup with slightly discolored water in it. He watched him drink all of the water. Kite smiled walking back over to Sora. "Are you going back out?"

"They just made some candy." Sora said finishing off a piece of fruit.

Kite could see the intent in his eyes. "Please be careful."

"I always am." Sora smiled confidently running out of the hole in the wall. Kite sighed sitting on his old sheet to meditate once more. He opened one eye and looked over at Kurin who was trying to play the pan flute that he had found him with. He could only play a few crude sounding notes on it.

 _Later…_

"That's all of it, right?" Mana asked holding a large sack of candy in her hands.

"Yes, yes." The shopkeeper said eyeing the small bag of gold in Mana's hands.

"And you're not making any more today?"

"That's right." The shopkeeper responded.

"Thanks." Mana smiled handing them the bag of gold.

"No, thank you." The shopkeeper smiled coveting the small bag of gold.

"I never saw you as one for a sweet tooth." Shada said eyeing the large bag of candy.

"It's to lure out that boy from earlier. If he likes candy that much, maybe he'll come to us."

"If not?" Shada asked.

"Joseph, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma can have a treat later." Mana swung the bag over her shoulder and walked off towards one of the alleys. "Time to set the trap." She dropped several pieces on the ground and walked out of the alley watching from behind one of the buildings; the bag of candy sat behind her. Shada was waiting on the other side for the boy.

Sora ran across the rooftops until he paused at the candy stand. He used his usual tactics and snuck under the canopy roof. He looked down and saw an empty stand. Any hopes he had disappeared at that moment; he wanted to know where the candy was. He walked into the home behind the stand a glowing axe appeared behind him. "Where's the candy!?"

The woman and man mixing ingredients at one of the tables dropped their bowls simultaneously out of fear. "A girl bought it all. We have to make more for tomorrow now. Please don't hurt us." They were shaking in fear of the small child.

Sora had his fists clenched as he stomped his feet on the ground throwing a small fit. "There better be more tomorrow!" His creature disappeared behind him as he stormed out of the house. _It has to be that girl._ Sora growled climbing back on to the rooftops. He would jump across to each roof in the village scanning the streets below for any sign of the girl from before and the large amount of candy she was probably carrying with her.

"Nothing." Mana mumbled to herself keeping an eye on the candy on the ground not watching the large sack behind her. She continued to wait hoping he would show up. Then she started hearing the crinkling of paper. She turned around quickly to see the boy from earlier grabbing as many pieces as he could. "Gotcha." Mana said tackling him to the ground.

"Hey, get off of me!" Sora shouted squirming under Mana. At that moment, Sora's eyes closed and his shadow creature took over. A rather large, circular blade appeared behind Mana ready to tear her in half.

"Two Headed Jackal Warrior, defend!" Shada ordered his shadow creature who immediately attacked the demonic weapon knocking it to the ground. "We are trying to help you." Shada said while his creature kept an eye on Sora's. He walked over to Sora seeing no chance of him calming down in the near future. Nevertheless, he held up his Millennium key to Sora knowing there was something to be found. Shada closed his eyes penetrating Sora's mind. "So strange. There are no shadow creatures inside of him, only two portals, almost like gateways for his creatures to emerge from." Shada opened his eyes looking at Sora. "Mana, let him up. I would like to talk to him." She did as she was instructed trying to block Sora off a little. "I would like for you to come with us, have the life you deserve."

Sora stared at him briefly his shadow creature disappeared. He kicked Shada in the shins before running away.

"Hey!" Mana shouted giving chase after him. Shada was not far behind trying to fight the pain.

"They're coming!" Sora shouted bursting into the hideout.

Kite's eyes immediately darted open. His anger at Sora for leading them here was not seen, but known by everyone in the room. "Kurin, hide." He turned to Sora. "Get ready to fight." He turned to Kurin once more who was frozen. "Run, hide!" The small boy immediately started running trying to find a safe place to hide.

"There's more of you." Mana said with a hint of excitement in her tone.

Shada was less excited and a bit more concerned. He looked at Kite seeing his torn clothing. He could see the electric blue glow in his eyes and the similar colored aura that surrounded him. "There's no need for this." Shada gripped his key tightly ready to defend himself and Mana.

"You're threatening me and my brothers. There is a need for this." Kite ran at Shada his fist glowing with energy. Shada quickly ducked to the side. Kite's fist blew through the wall.

"Time for full power!" Sora grew excited. "When my soft monsters and my demonic ones come together, they make something truly terrifying!" Shada and Mana watched in horror as the demonic blades they first encountered appeared with a large, soft looking bear. They quickly came together forming a demonic form of the bear with blades protruding from it.

"Fusion! Something I only thought could be done by the power of the Millennium Scales!" Shada looked at Sora with sheer terror on his face.

Kite ran over back to Sora's side. They stood side by side ready to fight.

"My turn." Mana summoned Dark Magician Girl by her side.

"We're not here to fight." Shada stood calmly not bothering to summon any of his shadow creatures. "I want to talk to both of you."

"The time to talk is over." Sora's shadow creature swiped at Mana and Shada. Mana's Dark Magician Girl retaliated with her own magical blast. Kite and Shada were locked in battle.

Kite would continue to swing at him, but Shada would only dodge his attacks. "You could have summoned your shadow creature by now."

"No need." Kite swung at Shada once more, but Shada dodged the attack and grabbed Kite by the back of his shirt. It was not his smartest move as the shirt tore revealing a rather intricate tattoo of a sword on Kite's back.

Shada used Kite's distraction to wield the power of his Millennium key. The power of the creature inside of Kite threw him against a wall. "Such…power. A dragon from the cosmos."

Kite walked over and grabbed Shada by his collar. "Never speak of it." His eyes glowed intimidatingly. "Tell me who you are."

Meanwhile, Sora and Mana were locked in their own conflict. "First you buy all the candy and now this!" Sora's monster swiped at Mana once more. She jumped on to the creature's arm avoiding the attack. Her Dark Magician Girl launched another attack blasting the creature back. Mana could tell that the repeated attacks were draining the boy's energy.

The battle raged on with Mana and Shada draining Sora and Kite's energy enough that exhaustion would be imminent. The battle was cut short by a piercing shriek. Everyone stopped fighting. They all turned their attention to the source of the unpleasant sound, a small ball of brown fur with purple eyes and green arms and legs.

"What is that?" Shada looked at the creature in confusion wondering where it came from.

"Something's wrong with Kurin." Kite's body stopped glowing. He started running through the building following after the creature.

"Wait!" Mana chased after him. "We can help."

"We don't need your help!" Kite turned to her shouting not stopping hoping it was not too late. Kite ran into a room and threw aside a piece of debris revealing a large hole in one of the walls. There he saw Kurin, curled up in a ball, sobbing. Kite got him out of the wall and pulled him in closely wrapping him in a hug. "Why are you crying?"

"They want to take you and Sora away."

"We won't go anywhere without you." Kite hugged him tightly not noticing Mana walk into the room with Kurin's shadow creature which disappeared upon entry.

"I guess it thought I should see what was happening." Mana shyly held her staff with both hands walking over to Kite and Kurin.

"Get away." Kite stared at her watching carefully.

"I'm not doing anything." She knelt beside them. "What's your name?"

"Kurin." He said shyly.

"I never learned your name either." Mana said looking at Kite.

"It's Kite, and Sora was the one you met first."

Mana put her hand on Kurin's forehead. "You're warm. If you come with us, we can give you guys the life that you deserve. You'll get to live in a big house and never have to steal food again."

"Sounds too good to be true." Kite looked at her skeptically.

"We still have to make a few stops before we go back to the big house, so you might have to rough it in a caravan for a little bit." Shada said walking into the room with Sora by his side munching on a piece of candy.

"It looks like you two worked out your differences." Kite said looking at Sora.

"It doesn't take much with him." Shada said tussling Sora's hair.

"What do you say?" Mana asked taking Kurin from Kite. She held him closely. Kurin nodded his head resting it over her shoulder.

"I guess we're going." Kite said grabbing Kurin's pan flute off the floor. He handed it to Mana. "That's his."

"First we need to get some food in him." Mana said feeling how light Kurin was. "We'll go back to the inn so you can meet the others. We'll get some rest, and then we can go in the morning."

"Others?" Kite looked at her with a bit of worry.


End file.
